The Rise of the Empire

"Your Majesty the Crown Prince, we have discovered hidden Serbian independence elements in the city. Do we need to change our itinerary today?" the chief of guard said beside the Crown Prince.

"I am the crown prince of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the future emperor. How could I shrink back because I am afraid of assassins' bullets? Aren't the police and the army all arranged? I believe in your ability. After all, I will lead you to attack in the future. Belgrade or even St. Petersburg,” said Ferdinand.

"I will tell those Serbs today that there is a complete Austro-Hungarian army behind me, which can easily crush them into pieces at any time!"

The Austro-Hungarian Empire was really preparing to take the lead in the Balkans, and deployed a complete army group in the border area between the two countries according to the configuration before war. The arrival of Crown Prince Ferdinand made the entire situation even more tense. After all, it was not just Austria. The crown prince of the Hungarian Empire and the second-in-command of the empire's military power.

"Today is March 5th, and in two months at most, we will celebrate our victory in Belgrade. Let's treat today as a preview!" the crown prince said with confidence.

What Ferdinand never expected was that the army and police he trusted could not save his life. When a Serbian young man held a modified Mauser C98 submachine pistol and fired a full 20-round magazine. At that time, the crown prince and his wife completed a cycle of history. And the pace of the war has also entered the final stage! At this time, there were still 6 months until the Kaiser started war!

"The war is about to begin!" When Ruprecht received the news, his first reaction was to be nervous. He had been preparing for more than 20 years, and now it was finally time to decide his fate. As for Fei The prince was not very surprised by the assassination of Crown Prince Dinand, and even breathed a sigh of relief. If Ferdinand was alive, then Princess Marie would naturally have no chance of taking the throne. After all, the former has been a prince for decades. It would be an understatement to say that the foundation is deep. If he doesn't die, how can his wife ascend to power?

As for his death, the prince was not too surprised. First of all, the assassination of Prince Ferdinand was not an isolated incident in history. There was support from Serbian ultranationalists behind it. This is the so-called Black Hand, this organization In fact, big moves had been made before. Historically, the last Archduke of the Serbian Obrianovi Dynasty died under the gun of this organization, and that was in 1903. And this organization even survived until World War II. When it comes to murder, they are at a professional level.

Secondly, there are real problems with the combat effectiveness of the powerful organs of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Princess Sissi was assassinated, and Ferdinand was also assassinated. The core members of the royal family died like this. This is extremely rare among European royal families, right? It is definitely impossible to say that there is no problem with security. In addition, Ferdinand himself was a little jumpy, so the ending that ended up being the same as in history was unexpected and reasonable.

However, Ruprecht obviously has no intention of paying attention to these things anymore. He now needs to arrange some important things.

"Mary, you go to Vienna immediately. I hope to know His Majesty Fritz's attitude. Is it war or reconciliation? At the same time, immediately ask Count Laura to turn all the funds into supplies, and then purchase them according to the list we made in advance. Supplies, I hope to transport all these things back within one month." The prince first turned to his wife and said.

"Count Schelling, contact Berlin immediately. I need to know the Kaiser's attitude!"

"Calypt,

Contact Prince Leopold immediately, I need to know about the mobilization of the Bavarian Legion and the Bohemian-Moravian Legion. "

"I will write a personal letter to Tirpitz and ask them to prepare to release the submarines and camouflaged attack ships. As for the two warships ordered by Argentina, my final decision is to implement Plan B, and the details will be decided by the Kaiser. ." In a very short period of time, Ruprecht issued several orders.

Historically, there was a gap of one month between the assassination of Crown Prince Ferdinand and the declaration of war by the Austro-Hungarian Empire on Serbia. In this last month, the prince has too many things to deal with!

By the next night, Berlin had called back, and this time, Berlin was using an Enig cipher machine produced in Bavaria. Before seeing the specific content of the telegram, Ruprecht already knew what the Kaiser meant. The war was finally about to break out, and according to the agreement between the prince and the Kaiser, before the war broke out, all important departments in Prussia The long-sealed Eniger cipher machine needs to be replaced immediately to prevent leaks. Changing the cipher machine can be regarded as a signal of the outbreak of war!

Princess Mary has already left for Vienna with her son. As important members of the royal family, Princess Mary and Albrecht, who has the right to inherit the Grand Duke of Bohemia and Moravia, should go to Vienna to attend Ferdinand's funeral.

"I hope that everything we do can achieve something." Ruprecht took a deep breath, and then quickly walked out of the study. If nothing else happens, this may be his last time in the past few months. Lived in the royal palace in Munich.

For today, the prince has made a plan. Countess Laura will be responsible for transporting the last batch of supplies to Germany. Tomorrow, he will meet with Prince Leopold and other important members of the Bavarian Legion, and then with Bohemian The important commanders of the runner-up army held a meeting.

After the mobilization order was issued, he also needed to communicate with representatives of the German General Staff and representatives of Field Marshal Konrad of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. and participated in formulating the final war plan.

When Ruprecht walked out of the room, he saw his father, King Ludwig III of Bavaria, standing in front of him. "My child, the war is about to break out, are you ready?" the old king said calmly.

"We have been preparing for this for nearly 20 years. If we are not ready now, we will never be ready. I have decided to shoulder my responsibilities and obligations and raise the glory of the Kingdom of Bavaria and the Wittelsbach family to the highest level. A new level,” Ruprecht said.

"Go, do your own thing, and leave the country to me. Whether it's Prussia or Fritz, I can deal with them. I believe you can succeed." The old king smiled and nodded.

"Father, wait for me and my legion to return victoriously." Ruprecht left after saying that. The war is finally coming.

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